How does the novel complicate traditional notions of “femininity” and “masculinity” for Genly Ai (and the reader) through the introduction of the Gethanian people?

If you’d like to write about Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (CHOOSE ONLY ONE):

• OPTION #1: Feminist: How does the novel complicate traditional notions of “femininity” and “masculinity” for Genly Ai (and the reader) through the introduction of the Gethanian people?
How does this complication serve to critique the human understanding of gender and patriarchy?

• OPTION #2: Deconstructive: The Left Hand of Darkness explores the nature and inherent contradictions of binary oppositions: male and female; self and other; light and darkness; ally and enemy; etc. Over the course of the novel, how does Genly Ai’s relationship with Estraven lead him to a new understanding of these oppositions and his own complex, indefinite identity as a person?

What gender roles emerge among the men and women living there?How do these roles change over time?

If you’d like to write about Ballard’s High–Rise (CHOOSE ONLY ONE):

• OPTION #1: Marxist: How does the social arrangement and behavior of the tenants in the high rise serve as a critique of capitalism, classism, competition, commodification, rugged individualism, and/or repressive economic ideologies? (Explore only those concepts you deem of interest.)

• OPTION #2: Feminist: As life in the high–rise evolves, what gender roles emerge among the men
and women living there? How do these roles change over time? By the novel’s end, does it offer
a critique of traditional gender roles or does it reinforce them?

In what ways does the relationship between the Morlock and Eloi societies constitute a critique of capitalism,class society, classism, and/or the notion of economic prosperity?

For this Research Essay, you will be applying a critical perspective to one of our course texts: Wells’s The Time Machine, Ballard’s High–Rise, Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, Russ’s The Female Man, or Delany’s Babel
The critical perspectives available to you are Marxist, feminist, or deconstructive, as defined and
explained by Lois Tyson. While this Research Essay differs from traditional research tasks in that the scholarly sources (Tyson’s articles) have been provided for you, you will nevertheless need to read and study these sources closely in order to successfully apply the concepts, methods, and critical lenses contained in Tyson’s writing. (NOTE: No additional research beyond Tyson’s articles will be required.)

You will accomplish this task by choosing ONE of the following options:

If you’d like to write about Wells’s The Time Machine (CHOOSE ONLY ONE):
• OPTION #1: Marxist: In what ways does the relationship between the Morlock and Eloi societies constitute a critique of capitalism,class society, classism, and/or the notion of economic prosperity? (Explore only those concepts you deem of interest.)

• OPTION #2: Deconstructive: How does the indefinite, unstable, undecidable nature of the Morlock and Eloi relationship complicate our reading of which of them is “oppressed” and which is “oppressor”?

Explain how Dee’s ingratitude toward and neglect of her family is encouraged by the ideology of rugged individualism.

Rugged individualism

Dee seems to have forgotten that she wouldn’t have had the chance to become financially successful without the help of Mama and her community.

She acts as if she did it all on her own. And she doesn’t seem inclined to lift a finger now to help Mama and Maggie improve their lot.

1 Find evidence in the story that supports these claims about Dee’s selfish attitude.

2 Explain how Dee’s ingratitude toward and neglect of her family is encouraged by the ideology of rugged individualism.

How does Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” (1952) qualify as a Marxist critique of organized religion?

Questions for further practice:

Marxist approaches to other literary works

The following questions are intended as models. They can help you use Marxist criticism to interpret the literary works to which they refer or other texts of your choice.

1. How is the rigid class structure evident in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” (1931) responsible for much of the story’s action and characterization? Would you say the story does or does not invite us to criticize the classism it represents?

2. What can we learn from Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” (1972) about conspicuous consumption and commodification? How does the story use its representation of these capitalist realities to criticize class oppression?

3. How does John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) qualify as a Marxist critique of American capitalism? How does the novel’s form (realism) support that critique? How does the ending of the film version (which is flawed, from a Marxist perspective) undermine the more realistic ending of the novel?

4. Describe the class system operating in the lives of the characters in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” (1898). In what ways does the story fail to criticize,and fail to invite us to criticize, the classism it depicts?

5. How does Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” (1952) qualify as a Marxist critique of organized religion?

How might the work be seen as a critique of organized religion?How does religion function in the text to keep a character or characters from realizing and resisting socioeconomic oppression?

Social class

Some questions Marxist critics ask about literary texts

The following questions are offered to summarize Marxist approaches to literature.
1. Does the work reinforce (intentionally or not) capitalist, imperialist, or classist values? If so, then the work may be said to have a capitalist, imperialist, or classist agenda, and it is the critic’s job to expose and condemn this aspect of the work.

2. How might the work be seen as a critique of capitalism, imperialism, or classism? That is, in what ways does the text reveal, and invite us to condemn, oppressive socioeconomic forces (including repressive ideologies)? If a work criticizes or invites us to criticize oppressive socioeconomic forces,
then it may be said to have a Marxist agenda.

3. Does the work in some ways support a Marxist agenda but in other ways (perhaps unintentionally) support a capitalist, imperialist, or classist agenda? In other words, is the work ideologically conflicted?

4. How does the literary work reflect (intentionally or not) the socioeconomic conditions of the time in which it was written and/or the time in which it is set, and what do those conditions reveal about the history of class struggle?

5. How might the work be seen as a critique of organized religion? That is,how does religion function in the text to keep a character or characters from realizing and resisting socioeconomic oppression?

Discuss the ways women cope and succeed as evidenced in the stories you select.

Write a critical/analytical essay discussing the challenges women face in the English-speaking Caribbean and their ways of coping and surviving as evidenced in the stories assigned for this class. Do not include references to Annie John or Crick Crack Monkey.

Nunez, Elizabeth and Jennifer Sparrow. Stories from Blue Latitudes: Caribbean Women Writers
at Home and Abroad. Seal/Avalon, 2006. 10: 1-58005-139-1. This is an anthology and contains stories by all the writers to be discussed.

Make a plan and Identify at least three challenges that Caribbean women face as evidenced in the stories you have read. Cite at least two stories for each challenge. Discuss the ways women cope and succeed as evidenced in the stories you select.

1. Class and color discrimination: Senior, Marshall, Nourbese Philip, Edgell, Hopkinson.

2. Gender discrimination: McWatt, Hemans, Brand

3. Limited economic options for women in the Caribbean: Leach, Brand, Powell

4. Police corruption and violence against women: Mordecai, Cezair-Thompson

5. Alienation experienced by white Caribbean women: Rhys, Cliff

6. Struggles for educational opportunities for female children: Collins, Pollard, Hemans, Cliff

7. The consequences of emigration ( leaving the Caribbean): Levy and Marshall

8. Coping with the social, psychological, economic effects of the history of slavery and colonization: Melville, Hopkinson must included in text citations from book.

Compare and contrast the primary romantic interest of each protagonist and its effect on the plot of the play.

Drama Paper

Your final drama paper will be a comparison/contrast of “Hamlet” and “Proof” following the outline below. The essay will be at least 5 paragraphs and 3-4 pages. No outside sources are permitted, or the grade will be a zero; plagiarized papers receive a zero, so just don’t do it. You may use and cite discussion posts as always. 🙂

I. Introduction:

In the beginning of “Hamlet” and “Proof,” the protagonists communicate with their deceased fathers. Compare/contrast the plot movement purposes behind Hamlet’s and Catherine’s communication with their deceased fathers. Plot movement is the action/what happens in the play. How does each protagonist’s conversation with his/her ghost father move the plot/action of the play? Compare and contrast similarities or differences in the purpose of each ghost’s visit. (Are there any similarities or differences in the purpose of each ghost’s visit? Hint: if there aren’t any similarities, examine the differences.)

Use at least one quotation from each play in intro paragraph!

II. Body:

Compare/contrast the roles of 2 of the primary antagonists in each play in the major obstacles/conflicts Hamlet and Catherine face. This means to write about how 2 antagonists from each play cause problems for the protagonist in each play. (Are there any similarities or differences? Hint: if there aren’t any similarities, examine the differences.)

Compare/contrast the primary romantic interest of each protagonist and its effect on the plot of the play.

Compare and contrast the notion that either protagonist from “Hamlet” or “Proof” is mentally unstable.

Use at least one quotation from each play in each body paragraph!

III. Conclusion:

Compare/contrast the end of each play. In the end, what is the theme of each play? State the theme of each play as the major lesson learned about life from the play’s conclusion.

*Quotations are not necessary in the conclusion.

Follow this step-by-step guide, and don’t use any outside sources or plagiarize, and proofread carefully for a marvelous paper. Use the Drama Textbook Citation handout to cite sources correctly. Be sure to use the Drama RubricActions as the final checklist before turning paper in to ensure you have followed the assignment.

What were the places where you struggled?What were the areas where you still aren’t where you need to be?

The writer Annie Dillard once observed, “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.” You have completed 13 weeks now in a class learning skills to assist you in achieving your dreams and goals. If we consider that how we did the class is how we will do the future, what do you feel that says about your future? What were your strengths? (Maybe you did every assignment and showed up to every class period this semester in a timely manner—go you!) What were the places where you struggled? (Maybe every journal wasn’t a deep dive for you. You’re still a good person and now you can focus in on those lessons later!) What were the areas where you still aren’t where you need to be? (Maybe you have always had problems with self motivation— what tools do you have now to assist you in addressing the issue?)

Reflect on the questions above and write an essay which thoughtfully and fully answers this question: If how I do the class is how I do life, what does that mean and how will I use that information?

What similarities or differences do you see between these texts?What conversations are they participating in together?

Response Paper

Consider the themes that we discussed in class over the past week or two and the themes brought up in this interview: https://www.salon.com/2011/02/20/victorians_2/

Then write a response that identifies any connections you see between Swinburne and/or Rossetti on the one hand and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest on the other.

What similarities or differences do you see between these texts?What conversations are they participating in together? etc.

Swinburne readings we did in class to reference for the essay:
http://swinburnearchive.indiana.edu/swinburne/view#docId=swinburne/acs0000001-01-i037.xml;query=;brand=swinburne

http://swinburnearchive.indiana.edu/swinburne/view#docId=swinburne/acs0000001-01-i016.xml;query=;brand=swinburne

Rosetti Readings we did in class to reference for the essay:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-market